Orlando Denardi and Arthur Machado had two requirements when they were looking for a new apartment in São Paulo: to be closer to their friends, and to find a unit with dedicated outdoor space. “That was the dream,” Orlando says.

At the time, they lived in a far-flung area, so socializing meant taking a taxi or a lot of trains—and they craved a connection to the outdoors, although they knew it was a big ask in a dense city of high-rise buildings. “We are piled up, and getting more piled up as time goes by,” says Arthur.

Fortunately, one of the couple’s hobbies is scrolling real estate listings, so only six months passed before they found a penthouse apartment in the Pinheiros neighborhood. The building—which neighbors call the Cenourão, or “big carrot”—was originally designed by architect Ary de Queiroz Barros in the early ’80s, and the couple explain that it was noteworthy for its focus on duplex apartments.

In traditional penthouses, says Arthur, the terrace is located off the upper level and separated from the main living spaces, which are usually on the lower level. “Then you have to put in another half bath and kitchen upstairs to entertain,” says Arthur. The Cenourão penthouse plan is flipped, with the terrace off the lower-level living room. “In this case, the configuration is like a home,” adds Orlando. “The social areas are downstairs, with the outdoors.”

However, the rest of the floor plan suffered from tight, compartmentalized rooms, some with triangular corners and diagonal walls. “I took a while to see the potential, because it was very segmented,” says Arthur—but Orlando, being an architect, knew exactly how to proceed.

Before: Entry and Living Room

After: Entry and Living Room

Orlando’s remodel started with the terrace, which was dominated by a raised deck with an inset concrete tub, and accessed by four steps just outside glass doors. The raised deck may as well have been a stage, putting the occupants level with nearby windows. “We had a privacy issue there,” says Arthur. Orlando adds: “When you entered the apartment, your eyes were drawn to the neighborhood, which has a lot of buildings. My idea was to create this oasis where you walk in and see the greenery, not the neighbors.”

Before: Terrace

After: Terrace

Before: Terrace

After: Terrace

Now, the living room and eat-in kitchen flank two sides of the terrace, and stacking glass doors open up at the corner to fluidly connect the spaces. “One big challenge was to guarantee there was no water coming in from the outdoor area, because that was a problem before we bought the apartment,” says Arthur. To solve the issue, they carefully inserted the door rails into the floor, alongside an appropriate drainage system.

Orlando also custom designed a semicurved eave to shelter the doors from sun and rain. The eave corresponds to the barrel vault he added in the living room, which helps to spread light around and emphasize the ceiling height.

Before: Powder Room

After: Powder Room

Before: Living Room

After: Corridor

Orlando laid down marble flooring inside and out, covered the living room and powder room walls in adobe brick, and added a wood accent wall in the foyer, taking care to ensure that the brick and wood grain match in color. “I wanted to work with natural materials to bring forward the connection with the outdoors,” says Orlando.

“We also wanted things that were easy to maintain, so we could have more friends over,” Arthur adds.

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

Now, the apartment’s front door opens to views of a 16-foot-tall palm tree and plants lining the balcony—and entertaining comes naturally in a space this magnetic. Instead of taking trains to see their friends, “our friends are asking to come here,” says Arthur.

While entertaining, Arthur and Orlando will often put out casual snacks, mix a dry martini, and play a Sade album, which reminds them of the time they saw the singer in concert over a decade ago. (They framed the ticket for the living room shelves.) “We have been spending a lot of time at home,” Arthur says of their newfound social hub. “Friends tend to come over on weekends, but by Thursday, we’re already open.”

Before: Dining Room

After: Dining Room

Before: Children's Room

After: Media Room/Office

Before: Primary Bedroom

After: Primary Bedroom

More Before & After stories:

A Couple Give a Treasured Family Home a Fresh Start—Furniture and All

A 450-Square-Foot Copenhagen Flat Now Hosts DJs, Art Openings, and Plenty of Friends

A Pavilion-Like Addition Opens Up a São Paulo Home for Three Generations

Project Credits:

Architecture: Orlando Denardi / @orlandodenardi

Interior Design: Orlando Denardi

Landscaping: Musgo Paisagismo / musgo___

Lighting Design: Orlando Denardi

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Before & After: You’d Never Guess This Tiny Oasis Is in the Middle of São Paulo